Phuket’s daily world news round-up – Friday 1st March 2013

bangkokpost.com – No quick fix
Thailand signs historic agreement to begin peace talks with an insurgent group active in the far South, the BRN – a move welcomed by academics and Muslim representatives, who also warned it will not bring an immediate end to the violence in the far South.

nationmultimedia.com – Doubts over BRN chief’s control of South rebels
Yingluck won’t rule out role for Thaksin in Malaysia-brokered talks; Najib says negotiations to be held in Kuala Lumpur in two weeks.

mcot.net – Thai, Malaysian leaders say Thaksin involved in peace process
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has played a role in an agreement towards peace process, signed between Thailand and a Muslim insurgent group in the Malaysian capital on Thursday, according to Thai and Malaysian prime ministers.

bangkokpost.com – Farmers face cuts
How do you make a rice farmer angry? Cut the payments of the paddy-pledging scheme. They say there will be mass protests if the government reduces prices.

bangkokpost.com – Narathiwat declared disaster zone
Authorities declared Narathiwat a disaster zone late Thursday evening after almost the entire area of this southern province was hit by flooding triggered by four consecutive days of heavy rains.

nationmultimedia.com – ‘Don’t give all power to one family’
Ong-art Klampaiboon, the Democrat Party election director, said he hoped Bangkokians would come out in full force to vote for Sukhumbhand Paribatra and relay the message that they do not want the entire country to be controlled by just one family.

bangkokpost.com – Health plans for foreigners under review
The Ministry of Public Health on Thursday revealed it was seeking appropriate forms of health insurance for foreigners in preparation for the formation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

nationmultimedia.com – Thai Nootsara named world’s best setter
Thailand’s Nootsara Tomkom has been named the world’s Best Setter in 2012 by the prestigious Volleyball Globe awards (www.volleyball.it), after beating USA’s Carli Lloyd by a landslide in online voting that concluded yesterday.

bangkokpost.com – Man United to come to Thailand
Manchester United announced on Thursday that they will begin their 2013 pre-season tour in Thailand.

ASIAbbc.co.uk – Deadly clashes over Bangladesh trial
At least 30 people die in Bangladesh in clashes sparked by a death sentence handed down to a senior Islamist leader for war crimes.

news.com.au – China sets its 5th manned space mission
China will send three astronauts to its orbiting space station this northern summer.

bbc.co.uk – Burma protesters remain in hospital after land clashes
Nineteen farmers and several policemen remain in hospital in Burma after clashes at a land protest in which one policeman was killed.

bangkokpost.com – Malaysian Islamist hits out
The long-time head of the Malaysian border province of Kelantan, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, says the country’s ruling party is not just infidel, but also communist.

UKbbc.co.uk – MPs want undercover policing reforms
Abuses linked to undercover police work show that an urgent review of the legislation is needed, an MPs’ committee says.

bbc.co.uk – Ministers ‘misrepresenting’ the poor
The government is deliberately misusing evidence and statistics to misrepresent the plight of the poor, a report says.

bbc.co.uk – Livestock virus found on 1,500 farms
A virus that causes stillbirths and birth defects in lambs and calves has spread to more than 1,500 UK farms, new government figures show.

news.com.au – Great Train Robbery mastermind dies
Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind of Britain’s Great Train Robbery in 1963, has died at 81.

AFRICAbbc.co.uk – Zuma condemns SA ‘police drag’ case
South African President Jacob Zuma condemns an incident captured on video showing a taxi driver being dragged through the streets by a police van.

bbc.co.uk – Congo militia in deadly army battle
At least 36 people die in fighting between a militia and the army in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the military and UN say.

news.com.au – Sudan sends more troops to Blue Nile
Sudan is sending hundreds of extra troops to the Blue Nile region to confront rebels in a border town about 240km south of the region’s capital.

bbc.co.uk – Peace concert for Kenya election
A concert is held in the Kenyan capital with musicians calling for a peaceful election a day after a report revealed campaign attacks, hate speech and cases of ethnic intimidation.

EUROPEnews.com.au – 2 workers die at French nuclear plant
Two workers were killed and a third has been seriously injured when a raised platform they were standing on collapsed at one of France’s nuclear plants.

bbc.co.uk – Eurozone inflation falls to 2% in January
Inflation across the eurozone has fallen from 2.2% to 2% in January, according to official figures.

bbc.co.uk – Bankia turns in record loss of 19.2bn euros for 2012
Spain’s troubled Bankia – formed of the merger of seven floundering savings banks – has reported a record loss.

bbc.co.uk – Benedict XVI steps down from papacy
Pope Benedict XVI officially resigns, saying that he now “will simply be a pilgrim” starting his last journey on earth.

bbc.co.uk – Argentina tells court it will resist debt demands
Argentina has signalled to a US court that it will resist demands by a group of investors to repay them in full 11 years after its huge debt default.

MID-EASTbbc.co.uk – US extends aid to Syrian rebels
Secretary of State John Kerry says the US will provide “non-lethal” support to Syrian rebels for the first time, as well as extra aid to the opposition.

bbc.co.uk – Five die in Iraq Tigris boat sinking
At least five Iraqis died when a crowded restaurant boat used for a private party sank in the Tigris river in Baghdad, officials say.

USbbc.co.uk – No deal in sight on US budget cuts
The US Congress adjourns for the weekend without passing a deal to avert $85bn (£56bn) in budget cuts scheduled to take effect on Friday.

news.com.au – First Lady launches push on obesity
US First Lady Michelle Obama has taken her campaign against childhood obesity to a new level with a $US150 million schools program.